


Ready To Run

by BeautifulWisdom



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 2020, Alternate Universe - James Bond Fusion, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Female Harry Styles, Female Louis Tomlinson, Girl Direction, Girl Direction Fic Fest, Lingerie, Minor Character Death, Moneypenny is Moneypenny, Niall is Q, Nonbinary Character, Shoes, Spies & Secret Agents, Teasing, They're not really enemies though, Zayn is M, also one of the main characters gets treated for a wound but nothing too graphic here either, kind of, more like rivals, spies au, the depiction of violence isn't too graphic but two minor characters get shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:15:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26530516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautifulWisdom/pseuds/BeautifulWisdom
Summary: “Oh, and by the way, I don’t know if you have met Louise yet, but should she still be alive then she won’t be very happy that we sent the cavalry.” A loud cackling could be heard over the comms.Harry looked over to Liam in surprise. She didn’t know what she was dreading more at this point finding 002 alive or not. Even though she obviously hoped for the best, attachment wasn’t something that was recommended in their field of work as it was too much of a liability when push came to shove and had been the reason for a retraction from active duty from time to time. Most double 0 agents were therefore only connected through solidarity and the solitude that came hand in hand with their job.“She better be alive though.” Niall sounded downright fond. Harry frowned.“What is it with Tomlinson that everyone seems to love her despite her personality being described as so abrasive?”“You’ll know it when you meet her. I kinda wish I could be there to witness it. You’ll have to report all the details, right Liam?”“’Course I will, Niall!” Liam seemed to be suppressing a smile.---This fic is all thanks to the Girl Direction Fic Fest 2020 and the 'Spies AU' prompt!
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Ready To Run

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is all thanks to the [Girl Direction Fic Fest 2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GirlDirectionFicFest2020).  
> Go check it out! I noticed it way too late so this isn't actually part of it but I still got my prompt out of it. And I just want to say a massive thank you to whoever submitted the prompt because this has been SO MUCH FUN to write. Should you read this please say hi if you like. I hope this is at least a little bit how you imagined it. Also a massive thank you to the moderator for letting me use the prompt even though the fic fest was technically already closed!
> 
> I should mention at this point that I am not a native English speaker and didn't have anyone beta this. Feel free to point out all the mistakes in the comments though and I'll do my best to correct them.
> 
> Now have fun (I hope) reading this and I'd be very grateful for any and all kudos and comments!!

Her mandatory post-mission leave was over, her wounds mostly healed and her spirits high. She couldn’t wait to get back into the next adrenaline high. On her way through the MI6 building she didn’t pass any familiar faces which wasn’t unusual. The people she worked with on a regular basis were limited in number and most of them didn’t work in this part of the headquarters. She passed the last security check before M’s office. Her new leather boots squeaked on the shiny floor. Well, she didn’t need stealth in order to get to her boss at least. Miss Moneypenny looked up when she opened the door. 

“Styles,” her red lips formed a wide grin. “I gathered it was you imitating mice out in the hallway.”

“Miss Moneypenny,” Harry proceeded swiftly towards her desk and leaned over to kiss her hand with the faintest touch of her lips. She did have manners. “However did you know that. It seems you are far better suited for my job than I am.”

Miss Moneypenny pointedly took a tissue out of the box on her table and wiped her hand. As she did every time.

“It simply makes me one of the best in my job, actually. This was an easy enough deduction. You always buy yourself a new pair of terribly overpriced shoes after a successful mission and your mandatory leave is over. Plus, you are probably the only agent in the whole of MI6 who doesn’t believe in stealth. It’s truly a wonder that you haven’t been killed yet.”

“Why, Miss Moneypenny, you flatter me. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider going on that date with me?”

“Certainly not! I…”

Moneypenny didn’t have the time to list all the reasons she thought a date was a bad idea as M came out of his office, hidden behind a thick grey door.

“Styles,” he bellowed, “if you wanted to flirt you should have taken a longer leave.”

M was usually a gentle person, soft spoken and not easily fazed by anything. Something you wouldn’t think to find in the head of Britain’s secret service but also what made him so well suited for this job. Whatever it was that had caused this mood was not to be taken lightly. Harriet straightened her posture and stepped away from Miss Moneypenny’s desk.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good. If you’re done, stop wasting my time and come into my office.” He turned around and went back behind his desk with large, heavy steps.

Harriet was trained to adapt to situations quickly and anticipate what was coming next. She never could have guessed what M was about to tell her. She took a seat in one of the two uncomfortable, modern chairs opposite to M’s, crossing her legs at her ankles with a short appraising look at her new boots. They were the right choice, the soft blue suede looked great. Then she turned her attention to M who was typing something on his laptop faster than she believed even Moneypenny could type. She waited calmly for him to look up again.

“I’ll get straight to the point. We have a problem. Our best agent is in grave danger...”

Before he could continue a faux-scandalised outcry escaped Harriet.

“Your best agent? I thought that was me!” That didn’t get the hoped response as M merely frowned.

“This isn’t the time for jokes. As I was saying. We have lost all contact to 002. We haven’t had contact for days. We followed all the standard procedures already to no avail. Normally, our statues would gripe, however, Tomlinson had the mission to extract extremely confidential information. Even I don’t know exactly what it is. Therefore, we need someone who goes in to find her and get her out.” M took a deep breath. “You will have to leave straight away as there has been some concerning activity in the area she last reported from. No time to pack. Mr Payne will accompany you and be part of your cover. Miss Horan will be your liaison for support over the comms. These two are the only ones who know about this mission outside this office. Your mission is to find Tomlinson and the desired information and extract them. The information takes precedence over Tomlinson’s life should it come to that. You will meet Mr Payne in the parking area 6B. She has all further details and equipment. That is all. Good luck.”

Harriet knew a dismissal when she heard one. She got up and got out of his office. Moneypenny looked up at her expectantly.

“Off to the next great adventure then,” she asked.

“That’s right. Off to save the world. Wish me luck.” With a kiss goodbye on the hand, a cheeky wink as she got up and a last wave as she went out the door, she left a smirking Moneypenny behind. This time she didn’t grab for a tissue but leaned forward to get a whiff of Styles’ perfume. She had to remember to ask her where she got it when she came back.

Styles, there while, was halfway down the hallway already on her way to the staircase. She was antsy with the mysterious mission that was awaiting her, and she couldn’t possibly stand still long enough to wait for the lift, let alone in it.

She was glad she was wearing her comfiest black jeans, she thought, as she ran down the stairs taking three steps as the time. She hated it when she couldn’t bring her own clothes to a mission. They gave her a sense of security. Caught up in her thoughts she missed a step and nearly fell down the stairs, catching herself in the last second. Her wrist strained holding the force of her weight mid-fall.

“Fudge.” She didn’t need a stupid unnecessary injury preventing her from going on this obviously very important mission. M would have her head.

When she arrived in the parking area to see Mr Payne loading a black SUV with several bags, her wrist thankfully barely even smarted anymore.

“Mr Payne. I don’t think we’ve met yet. The name’s Styles, Harriet Styles. But my friends and colleagues call me Harry.”

Mr Payne turned around and grasped her outstretched hand in a firm grip. Harriet gave as good as she got, looking into big brown eyes and a friendly face.

“Lovely to finally meet you, 008. I’ve heard a lot about you. Oh, you can call me Liam by the way.”

Harriet laughed loudly and turned around to grab the last bag that stood next to the car.

“Only good things I hope, Liam.”

“Certainly.”

On the way to the airport Liam informed her where they were flying (a small European country that can’t be named here for security reasons) that they were staying in a prestigious hotel (at least Liam told her so, she had never heard of it before) and that their cover was a honeymoon spent travelling through all of Europe (she hoped Liam didn’t snore). Once in the plane Harry took her air pods out of the front pockets of her jeans intent on spending the flight listening to music and sleeping. Liam didn’t have the same plan apparently. He plopped down on the seat next to her and started whispering in her ear.

“Did you know that Tomlinson has the reputation to be the best agent in the whole of MI6? I can’t wait to meet her!” Harry disgustedly put some space between them when she felt his spit spraying on her ear.

“No, I didn’t actually. I always thought that was me.”

“Oh, you’re second best on the ranking. They call you Bambi. Get it? ‘Cause of your long legs and your clumsiness.”

Harry frowned and tried to will the tears down that were welling up behind her eyes. She wasn’t sensitive not really. And she certainly didn’t care that she wasn’t the best in whatever ranking Liam was talking about. Her clumsiness had in her opinion always been one of her best assets but being called out like this hurt. At least when Moneypenny teased her, she knew it was in a loving, adoring kind of way despite their constant banter.

“Well, those ‘Bambi legs’ made me second best. Along with many other talents.” With that she pointedly put in her air pods and turned away, pointedly closing her eyes. She heard Liam try to speak to her a few times, but she just pretended to be asleep until she finally was.

She was woken what felt like minutes later by someone shaking her gently. She bolted upright and tried to get hold of her gun when she took in her surroundings. Right, on the way to her new mission with Liam fucking Payne to rescue Louis fucking Tomlinson.

“I’m awake. You can stop shaking me now.” She knew she sounded cold and detached right now but she had just woken up (was woken quite rudely) and was still a bit grumpy about his earlier comments.

“Listen, I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. For what it’s worth everyone thinks Tomlinson is a bitch and you’re much nicer. The nickname’s from her by the way.”

“I appreciate the apology.” She gave him a smile that he hesitantly returned and stretched her arms above her head making her back pop. “Ah. I hate these seats. They’re hell on my back.”

“You can say that again. One time I…”

_“Ladies and Gentlemen, we will shortly be landing in…”_ As the announcement continued Harry stashed her air pods back in the front pockets of her jeans and righted blouse. She had goose bumps all over her arms and wished she hadn’t put her jacket in the rucksack that was in the compartment above her. Liam seemed to notice and took of his sweater to give it to her.

“Thanks. God, it’s freezing in here.” Someone in the row behind her shushed her as the announcement was still being passed on over the loudspeaker.

Harry rolled her eyes at Liam who suppressed a laugh.

When they arrived at hotel Harry had to laugh again. It was ridiculously ostentatious. Golden decorations seemed to be everywhere, and the guests looked as old as hotel itself.

“I’m not sure if staying at this place is the best cover.” Harry looked at Liam who seemed to be suppressing a smile as well.

“We do seem to stick out quite a bit what with our age.” He grinned at her. “Let’s get our room. After you, m’lady.”

Harry pretended to curtsey and then led the way to the reception, her leather bag with some clothes and equipment provided by the headquarters in a tight grip.

“Hello, we have booked a room on the name ‘Payne’. It should be the honeymoon suite.” Harry over exaggeratedly wiggled her ring finger with the ring Liam had given her on the way to the airport.

“Of course. Just a moment while I check the reservation and congratulations.” Liam had since sidled up to her and she put her arm around him and cuddled up to him.

“Thank you.”

The receptionist frowned and clicked frantically on the mouse.

“Is there a problem,” Liam asked.

“I’m afraid there is. There doesn’t seem to be a reservation under the name Payne.”

“Are you quite sure? It’s spelled P-A-Y-N-E. Or maybe under Styles.”

The receptionist looked again.

“I’m truly sorry. But there isn’t a reservation for any of those names. And I’m afraid we’re fully booked so I can’t offer you a room either. I could call you a cab if you’d like.”

“Well, thank you for your efforts. And we have a rented car, thank you.” She took Liam’s hand and swiftly dragged him to the exit.

“This was unexpected.” She held out her hand expectedly. Liam stared at her dumbly for a moment before he started searching his pockets. Harriet opened the car and sat down on the driver seat. Finally, Liam put two tiny see-through objects in her hand that she implemented in her ears with a routined gesture that only showed her pushing her hair behind her ears. As soon as Liam closed the door she started talking.

“Q? You there?”

After a moment she heard a lilting Irish voice over the comms.

_“008. Good to hear from you. You checked in yet?”_

“We tried to but apparently there was no reservation.” She started the car. It was getting cold outside.

_“What the fuck. I definitely booked the honeymoon suite for you. There must have been an interference. I’ll look into it.”_

“Great. While you do that could you give us the address of Tomlinson’s base of operations? I guess she had a flat if she worked on this for over a month?”

_“Yes, she did. I just send the information to the navigation system of your car.”_

“Thank you. Anything we should know before we search the flat.”

_“It’s on the third floor. The name on the doorbell should be Tomlinson. Her cover was a travel guide author. The rest you should have been briefed on already, but I’ll lead you through it quickly just in case. Tomlinson was sent on this mission to extract information about a mole in MI6 from a terrorist cell that is possibly in contact with the local government.”_

Harry kept her eyes firmly on the street. Liam had explained all this on the way to the airport already.

_“Your mission is to secure the information firstly and secondly extract Tomlinson if possible.”_

“Understood.”

“ _Oh, and by the way, I don’t know if you have met Louise yet, but should she still be alive then she won’t be very happy that we sent the cavalry.”_ A loud cackling could be heard over the comms.

Harry looked over to Liam in surprise. She didn’t know what she was dreading more at this point finding 002 alive or not. Even though she obviously hoped for the best, attachment wasn’t something that was recommended in their field of work as it was too much of a liability when push came to shove and had been the reason for a retraction from active duty from time to time. Most double 0 agents were therefore only connected through solidarity and the solitude that came hand in hand with their job.

_“She better be alive though.”_ Niall sounded downright fond. Harry frowned.

“What is it with Tomlinson that everyone seems to love her despite her personality being described as so abrasive?”

“ _You’ll know it when you meet her. I kinda wish I could be there to witness it. You’ll have to report all the details, right Liam?”_

_“_ ’Course I will, Niall!”

Harry sighed. “We’ll be there soon. We’ll check in again once we’ve checked the flat.”

_“Righto. Talk to you then.”_ With that the comms went still.

The flat was sparsely furnished, and the only touch of personality were the clothes flung over several chairs, the bed, and the sofa. Harry and Liam had their guns in their hands inspecting the bathroom and the bedroom respectively. No one was there, it didn’t seem like 002 had left in a hurry neither like there had been a fight. On the bed was a laptop that Harry took back into the living room slash kitchen with her. She stubbornly refused to acknowledge the lingerie set that had lain next to the laptop. (It had been in a light blue that seemed to be nearly exactly the colour of her new boots and must look absolutely phenomenal on Tomlinson’s tan, trained body that she had so far only seen on pictures.)

In the kitchen Liam had sat down on one of the chairs. He was talking to Niall over the comms.

“Flat is secured. Harry found a laptop.”

_“Oh, brilliant. Do you have the stick I gave you, Liam?”_ He fumbled in the front pocket of his jeans and then triumphantly procured a tiny stick in the form of a shamrock.

“You do know that we are the _English_ secret service, don’t you Niall?”

_“’Course I do! Doesn’t mean you can’t use some luck, does it_.” Harry could practically hear their smile over the comms. _“Now just stick it in and you should be able to gain access. Or well, I will. But you guys will be able to see what I am doing.”_

As soon as the sick had connected itself to the device lines of code started rapidly running over the screen. Harry didn’t have the faintest idea what she was looking at and Liam seemed to feel similarly.

“Would you mind explaining to us what you’re doing, Niall,” he asked.

“ _Sure. I developed a forum so to speak where Louise could keep all the information she had gathered without it being connected to any of the MI6 servers the mole might have access to. With the stick I can now access that information and show it to you in all its decoded glory.”_ There was a short pause. “ _There it is.”_

On the screen they could now see what looked like dated diary entries from Tomlinson.

The last one was from one week ago, one day before Tomlinson was due for her bi-weekly check in at MI6. It read: “Located terrorist cell. Extraction of information tonight 2200.” and an address. (Information redacted for security reasons.)

_“That is an abandoned construction site outside the city. I am sending you the blueprints as we’re speaking. The information is most likely to be found in the basement. That’s the only floor that has any electricity and plumbing that actually works and is used.”_

As it was the end of October it was nearly dark outside already. Their best chance would be to try for an extraction immediately with as much time as had gone by since they had last heard from Tomlinson, she was likely already dead. Plus, they couldn’t wait any longer in case the terrorist cell had been warned and knew of their mission.

“Alright. Let’s get a move on then.” Harry took the shamrock stick and put it into her jeans pocket. They packed all of Louis personal items and the laptop to take with them.

As swiftly and discreetly as they had entered the building half an hour before they now excited and proceeded to their car. The drive to the construction site took about 45 minutes that Harry used to drink something and eat a banana. She had eaten lunch at the airport, but it was nearly time for dinner again and she liked to keep her meals as regular as possible despite her stressful and unpredictable lifestyle. When they got closer to their destination, they turned off the headlights. In the distance they could see the looming shadows of two cranes and an unfinished building that looked like it had been planned to become a factory. Liam and Harry parked about a mile away in a small wood. They put on their protective gear and weapons and then stealthily made their way to the factory. They laid low behind a small hill of dirt and observed the site to find out their pattern for patrols. Every 15 minutes there were two heavily armed guns walking past. Harry signalled Liam that they would go as soon as the next patrol had passed. Harry bend her fingers to keep the blood flowing in the cold. What felt like only seconds later they were running down the hill.

The moment they crossed the route of the patrol several huge spotlights were turned on and shouting seemed to echo from everywhere.

“Shit,” Liam cursed,” do you think that was us?”

The sought cover behind a crane.

“No, I don’t think so. Niall said there wasn’t an alarm system in place anywhere but in the building and I trust them.”

“This might be Tomlinson then.”

Harry felt the gun on the back of her head before she heard the voice. But when she did, she immediately raised her hands.

“Right you are. And with whom do I have the pleasure.” Liam raised his hands as well.

“There’s a devil in your smile that’s chasing me.” Harry was glad that the identification phrase was from one of her favourite songs. She could always remember things better when they came with a melody in her head.

“There’s a lightning in your eyes I can’t deny.” Louis took down the gun and Harriet turned around. God, 008 had looked fantastic in the pictures already but in real life she was a sight to behold. Emaciated and tired as she looked, you could still tell that there was an undeniable strength to her, and she seemed to radiate power. There was an, albeit tired, smirk firm on her face. “These phrases get more and more ridiculous every time, don’t they?”

“Hey, I like that song!” Harry exclaimed quietly.

“They’re lines from a song? That just makes it even more ridiculous to be honest, love. But what was I expecting when they are sending fucking Bambi and a puppy to my rescue?” She sighed and gesticulated with her gun.

Suddenly Harry saw a movement to her left. She grabbed Louise’s gun from her hand and quickly shot the patrol. As soon as the bullet had left her gun she shouted “Down!” at Louise and Liam who thankfully complied and shot the other patrol that had been coming closer from the other side.

“We should get away from here.” Harry panted, adrenaline from the two kills still rushing through her blood. “I trust you have the information that you came to get.”

“Of course, I do! What do you take me for? They don’t call me the best for nothing.” She took back her gun from Harriet. “And thanks for that. I owe you.” With that she turned around and surveyed the area and made her way in the direction Harry and Liam had come from.

“What the fuck?” Liam and Harry stared at each other incredulously.

“I heard that!” Louis whisper-shouted at them. “Hurry up!”

They scrambled to comply, running after her as silently as possible. No one had yet seemed to notice that two of their guards were missing. As they made their way down the hill Harry stumbled over a stone and rolled half the way down. _What the hell?!_ She knew that her reputation for being clumsy did have truth at its root, but this was just embarrassing.

“Fucking Bambi, I swear.” Before she could register what was happening Louise had gripped her hand and was pulling her along. They were now running over the field as fast as they could. Hand in hand. Apart from a few callouses Louise had surprisingly soft hands. Harry wondered if the rest of her body was just as soft. Then she shook her head to rid herself of that thought, got dizzy and stumbled. Luckily, Louise was there to pull her along otherwise she would have probably fallen again.

When they arrived at the car Liam took the passenger seat, Harry jumped in on the driver’s side and Louise scrambled in the back as soon as all doors were closed, Harry drove back on the street as fast as the car allowed.

Liam gave Louise a pair of comms that she quickly put in.

“Q? You there?” Liam asked, still a little out of breath. There was nearly a minute of silence before someone answered. Harry frowned this was very unusual.

_“Hello, can you hear me? This is R. I had to take over from Q because they felt sick.”_

This wasn’t just unusual this was unprecedented. Q was never sick. And they would never just leave comms without informing them personally. Something must have happened.

_“Have you got Tomlinson or the information?”_

Harry made a quick executive decision.

“No. We went to the wrong place. Whoever took Tomlinson must be gone already or she went to the wrong place.”

_“Oh. Okay. Well, M told me to come back either way. There seems to be urgent business here at MI6 he needs you for.”_

“Roger that. Liam and I are taking the next flight.”

Harry turned the comms off.

“Liam, I need you to put this number in your phone. And send the following text: Meet me in the hallway, sweet creature. It’s a fine line.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“That’s Moneypenny’s personal phone and that is an emergency code.” Harry looked at Louise in the rear-view mirror.

“Alright. M is warned then. We still need to get back though, and we can’t take a flight from the local airport. It’s monitored by the terrorist cell.”

“Well, drive to the next one then. It’s only a few hours by car. But we definitely have to get rid of this one.”

“I agree,” Louise told Liam. “There’s a small town just twenty minutes North. We can change cars there.”

By the time they arrived in the town Louise had fallen asleep. Harry couldn’t help but looking at her again and again through the rear-view mirror. She had been so sure that she would hate her that she couldn’t quite believe that she mainly just felt fond when watching her. She looked a bit ridiculous sleeping on the backseat. Her head was tipped back, her mouth was slightly opened, and a quiet snore left her on every other exhale. She was beautiful. Harry couldn’t see her eyes right now obviously, but good thing that, because, fuck, her eyes! The blue was hypnotising from the short glimpse she had caught.

Louise woke up as soon as the car stopped. Liam was the first to hop out of the car to get their bags from the trunk.

Louise let out a pained sound as she hopped out of the car. Harry was immediately at her side.

“What’s the matter? Are you hurt? Why didn’t you say something?”

Louise just rolled her eyes. “Calm down, Bambi. I’m not about to die. It’s just a flesh wound on my waist. I just need some disinfectant spray and a band aid, and I’ll be fine.”

“We definitely have that in the trunk.” Harry turned around but Liam had already found the bag and threw it in her direction. She caught it easily and set in the foot room of the backseat. Louise obviously wanted to be quicker and leaned down to grab the things she needed but as she sat back up, she winced and carefully held her side. She lifted her shirt and underneath Harry could see a flesh wound that looked like it hurt quite a bit (and some black lace but that was neither here nor there).

“Let me do that.” Harry resolutely took the big band aid out of her hand and took hold of the disinfectant spray.

“I can do that myself,” Louis protested.

“I know,” Harry said. She kneeled on the ground next to the car so that she was on eye-level with the flesh wound and looked up at Louise. Just for a moment she saw herself kneeling in front of her for an entirely different (far more sexual) reason and Louise wasn’t looking at her in exasperation but encouragement. She was wearing the bralette Harry had seen on the bed in her flat and she was gently cradling the back of Harry’s head. Harry blinked a few times to get that image out of her head.

“I know,” she repeated, “but it’s easier when someone else does it.”

She didn’t wait for a response and simply sprayed the disinfectant generously on the wound. When she looked up, she saw Louise squeezing her eyes shut in discomfort. Harry quickly ripped the cover off the band aid and put it carefully over the wound. She looked up when she felt a hand putting a strand of her curly, unruly hair behind her ear.

“Would you look at that! Bambi is good for something after all,” Louise grinned at her fondly.

“You mean besides being your driver and saving your ass?” Harry allowed a satisfied smirk on her face and Louise let out a loud bark of laughter just as Liam turned around the corner with a new car.

They quickly sobered up and grabbed their bags to get into the car as quickly as possible.

“By the way,” Louise murmured in her ear as they put their bags in the trunk, “don’t think I didn’t notice you watching me sleep.” Harry turned beet red but before she was able to respond, Louise was already on her way to the passenger door.

“Hurry up, Harry,” called Liam silently. She speedily closed the trunk and got in as well.

~~~~~~~~

The rest of the journey went smoothly and soon they were back on British soil and on route to Harry’s flat.

“Why are we on our way to your flat anyway, Harry,” Louise asked.

“Because that’s where we’ll meet Moneypenny, give her the information and get further instructions.” Harry navigated through London’s streets with the ease that only came from years of practice. She loved London ardently. It was possibly her favourite place on earth. 

In the flat Niall and Moneypenny were waiting for them. Niall had obviously made themself at home on the sofa, eating one of the cupcakes Harry had baked two day ago and was petting her cat. Moneypenny was standing next to them gun in her hand obviously on high alert. Louise instantly dropped her bag and ran over to Niall and gave them a bone-crushing hug. They could barely save the cupcake and Cherry fled from Niall’s lap.

“Thank god you’re alright. You are alright, aren’t you? No injuries?”

“Calm down, Lou. Never been better.” They smiled at her consolingly. “R simply locked me in on the toilet. Moneypenny came to get me out. I just need to finish this cupcake and it’ll be like nothing happened. Mean baking skills by the way, H.”

“Thanks, Niall. Glad you’re okay,” Harry said with a little wave.

Liam went over to Niall and patted them on the back. “Yeah, that’s a real relief. Really had us worried there, mate!”

“Don’t get all emotional on me now. We still have work to do. I need Lou’s laptop and the information, please.”

“Right away.” Louis got up to get both out of her bag and Liam asked Harry where her bathroom was.

While Niall was typing away on the laptop and after she had greeted Moneypenny, she went to her kitchen to get them something to drink. She deposited the glasses and the water on her coffee table. Liam had returned from the bathroom and was talking on the sofa with Niall. Louise was standing with Moneypenny and Harry decided to join them.

“Oh yes. And I know exactly what I’m gonna get already.” Moneypenny lifted her eyebrows expectantly. Louise just smirked. “Do you remember that champagne coloured unlined lace and rhinestone teddy I showed you?” 

Harry nearly swallowed her tongue. She didn’t even know what it looked like, but she desperately wanted to see it on Louise. Who started laughing wholeheartedly when she saw her face. Moneypenny turned around and joined in. Harry grabbed her left tit. 

“Don’t laugh at me. You can’t mention something like that offhandedly and then don’t expect a girl to react.” The two women laughed even harder. Harry pouted.

Niall just shook their head. “Guys, let’s focus back on the task at hand, yeah? You can continue flirting when we are done.”

„‘Course, boss. What did you find out.” They all gathered around the coffee table.

“Surprise, surprise: the mole is R. We’ve got all the information we need to back our arrest.”

“Wait, you arrested R already? Why did we meet at my flat then and not at MI6?”

“Because we didn’t want to compromise your escape. You had probably destroyed your comms and we didn’t know if it was safe to contact you any other way in case you were monitored,” Moneypenny explained.

“M expects 002 and 008 in his office at 1500. I expect to see your new shoes then, 008. These ones are certainly thoroughly ruined!”

Harriet looked down. Her brand-new boots were indeed not sparkly new anymore. They were muddy and dirty and scuffed and suddenly she felt like crying. She swallowed a few times and blinked forcefully to keep the tears down. Maybe it was ridiculous, but she really did love her shoes. They were her reward, her self-care in a life where everything was always on the surface level of emotions and she had to fight hard to keep some sense of normalcy and comfort. Her shoes and her cat were her anchor. She felt a hand slide into hers.

“Thank you for packing the blue set from my bed. Lingerie is my shoes, you know,” Louise’s raspy voice whispered in her ear. She squeezed her hand and then let go. What felts like seconds later, everyone had left her flat and she was alone. Again. With her cat and her shoes.

~~~~~~~~

When she went into Mi6 the next morning she had regained her confidence and was proudly strutting down the hallway to M’s office. This was thanks to quite a number of things (such as a comfy evening on the couch, cuddling with her cat, a glass of wine, a few episodes of her favourite series, getting off to the mental image of a certain Mi6 agent in a certain teddy that she may or may not have googled, a shopping trip in the morning after breakfast at her favourite bakery, and the ride in her favourite car to MI6 with some empowering music playing with the volume turned up high) but most of all it was due to the sequin stilettos d’orsay that were throwing little rainbows along the hallway with every step she took. The satisfying noise the shoes made every time the see-through heels collided with the floor weren’t to be ignored either.

Moneypenny whistled when she caught sight of her latest catch. Harry laughed. She was on a high of endorphines. Her already excited heart dropped into her stomach, however, when Louise stepped out of M’s office. She was wearing trainers, a pair of baggy black trackies and a grey obviously well-worn grey, short sleeved Umbro sweater. While she looked fit for a cuddle and downright cute that wasn’t what made Harry nearly choke on her own spit. No, it was the nude bow that was hanging over the collar of her shirt and looked very much like it was part of the teddy Harry had spent some considerable time salivating over last night.

“Afternoon,” Louise chirped when she saw her. Her eyes dropped down to her feet and then back up her eyes with a wide grin. Harry had to ignore the fact that they stopped for the fraction of a second on her lips for her own sanity.

Thankfully she was speared the embarrassment of trying to stutter out an appropriate response by M who called her in her office, so she simply smiled back and rushed past her.

After her debrief with M Louise was still talking to Moneypenny.

“Oh, you’re finally finished, then. Follow me, 008.” With that Louise swaggered out of the room, clearly expecting Harriet to follow her. She stood there for a moment, flabbergasted, and then quickly running after her to catch up.

“Lovely to sees you as ever, Styles. See you soon.” – “Bye.” Was all the interaction with Moneypenny she had time for.

Louise was already halfway down the staircase by the time Harriet caught sight of her again. She was obviously on her way to the sub-levels where the cars were.

“Better hurry up, Harriet.” The laughter echoed through the entire staircase.

Harry only caught up with her at a sleek sports car. Louise was holding what looked like a shoe box in her hands.

“There you are. Thought I’d lost you for a moment. This is for you.” She was holding out the box.

Harriet, still slightly out of breath, took it gingerly from her. Louise rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry it won’t explode.”

When Harriet opened the box, her breath caught. She couldn’t believe her eyes. “You…” She looked up at Louise who had a gentle smile on her face. “Thank you!” She flung her arms around her neck and took a deep breath. Of course, she smelled bloody fantastic too!

Louise patted her back. “I did say I owe you, didn’t I? I thought this was fitting.”

Harry pulled back a bit and looked in Louise’s blue, blue eyes. Then down to her pink, pink lips. Then up into her eyes again. And then they were kissing, kissing, kissing. Harry felt like she couldn’t breathe but she didn’t care. She couldn't believe this was happening and she never wanted it to end and, Christ, was Louise good at this. 

Harry and Louise jumped away from each other in fighting stance when they heard a loud noise. They started giggling like schoolgirls when they saw light blue suede shoes spilled out of the shoe box on the floor where Harry had dropped them in her fervour.

“Want to continue this at my place,” Harriet asked with a shy smile on her face while she was picking up her present.

“Alright. Race you there.” With that and sweet, short peck to her lips the game was on.

Louise was the first to arrive at her flat and demanded her price be that Harry kept her heels on. Harry still felt like she won though when she saw her in the teddy and could convince her to keep it on the whole time.

The afterglow was cut short by Louise asking: “Can I use your bathroom?” She still sounded slightly out of breath.

“Sure, it’s just the next door on the right.”

When Louise had left the room she put on a pair of grey cotton panties and Louise’s grey Umbro shirt that she had thrown carelessly on the armchair in Harry’s bedroom just a few hours prior and went to make them some tea.

When she came back from the kitchen to see Louise sitting on the edge of her bed in her trackies and her teddy, Harry was tempted to just drop the mugs and devour Louise again right then and there. Her hair was wonderfully moussed and her lips were so very red from all the kissing and biting.

“There’s my shirt, then. I was wondering where that had wandered off to.” Louise grinned. “Looks better on you than it did on me, I have to admit that. I’d like it back now though, please.”

Harry frowned. “You’re leaving? I just mad us some tea. And really, cuddles are mandatory after sex for me. Pretty please.” She made her best impression of puppy dog eyes. Crinkles formed around Louise’s eyes.

“Well, who could say no to these eyes?”

~~~~~~~~

The next few months seemed to fly by at full speed with lots of rendezvous, lots of good wine, brilliant sex, sexy shoes and lingerie and massive amounts of cuddling and teasing and kissing.

Therefore, it wasn’t surprising at all when the were called to M for a discussion of relationships between colleagues. While it wasn’t something that was outright forbidden, it was still scarcely tolerated. And while Harry and Louise loved each other (though it would still be some time before they admitted it to each other), they also loved their job. They would of course continue their liaison in secret if they had to but it would make things much easier in their already complicated lives if they didn’t have to.

They were greeted by M with the words: “Ms Moneypenny recently told me a very interesting story. Did you know that the Greek encouraged their soldiers to be lovers to make them more effective?” He looked at them with wide, innocent eyes and a smile playing around his mouth. “Anyhow, I have a mission for the two of you…”

A few days later they lay on a rooftop next to each other. Their sniper rifles pointed on the street below them waiting for their targets to come outside. Harry started singing under her breath.

_This time I’m ready to run_

_Escape from the city and follow the sun_

_‘Cause I wanna be yours_

_Don’t you wanna be mine_

_We will never look back_

“So, this is what you actually do on your missions?” Harry could tell that Lou was teasing her from the tone of her voice. She didn’t need to look to her left to see the skin around her eyes crinkle in mirth. “Serenade your targets until they die from boredom. I knew there had to be something to make up for your clumsiness, Bambi.”

“Hey, I will have you know…” Harry paused and they both took their shots. As soon as they had ascertained their success, they were packing their weapons.

They ran hand in hand over the rooftop away from the shots fired and the voices screaming on the street below, only separating to jump to the next one. This time Lou was the one singing.

_This time I'm ready to run_

_Escape from the city and follow the sun_

_'Cause I wanna be yours_

_'Cause you wanna be mine_

_I don't wanna get lost in the dark of the night_

_This time I'm ready to run_

_Wherever you are is the place I belong_

_'Cause I wanna be free_

_And I wanna be young_

_I'll never look back now I'm ready to run_

**Author's Note:**

> At this point I'd like to note that the majority of my research was not about spies (as you might have noticed) but me googling lingerie and shoes and then I got lost on gucci.com and victoriassecret.com (amongst other websites). 10/10 recommend.
> 
> This is the teddy by the way: https://www.victoriassecret.com/gb/vs/sleepwear-and-lingerie-catalog/very-sexy-unlined-lace-rhinestone-plunge-teddy-1117156400?brand=vs&collectionId=da0f87a8-1274-4d5d-b7ab-a6595d7881f1&limit=180&productId=5a5af43f-d45f-47d5-a3dc-0ceead42aaab&stackId=31635bd5-3f40-4e97-a44a-ab9a3da22230
> 
> The shoes look something like this: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/720364902878418939/
> 
> My personal headcanon is that Louise had a crush on Harriet ever since she once was witness to on of her missions while she annoyed Niall in Q branch.
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much for reading if you made it till here! You're a star. If you would now leave me a comment or some kudos if you liked it, I'd be forever grateful!


End file.
